Young brothers foil attempted abduction

A man tried to abduct a 5-year old boy from a residential neighborhood in Prince William County on Monday, the county police said.

They said the boy and his 9-year-old brother had left a friend’s house in the Bristow area and were returning to their nearby home when the incident occurred.

The two were walking between houses near Noltland Drive and Lennice Way about 5 p.m. when, the man, who was apparently a stranger, approached them from behind, police said.

They said the man tried to grab the 5-year-old.

The older boy told police that he pushed his brother to the ground, and away from the man, a police spokeswoman said.

At that point, police said, the stranger ran from the scene. The boys ran to their home. They were not injured, police said.

The boys gave police a detailed description, the spokeswoman said.

The man was described as white, between 40-50 years old, about five feet eight and about 170 pounds. He had a blonde goatee and a small silver hoop earring in his right ear. He was wearing a yellow polo shirt with a left chest pocket. He wore sneakers and light blue jeans, according to the boys’ description.

Police said the detectives reinterviewed the boys Tuesday night and were canvassing the neighborhood, an area of single family-houses in the western part of the county about five miles south of Interstate 66.

Are we sure this was an attempted abduction? It seems unusual that a guy would try to abduct one kid while there was another one there. Maybe the 9-year old overreacted to a man walking near them, pushed his brother to the ground and then the guy just left? Maybe it's just a poorly written article, but there seem to be very few details that would verify that it was an attempted abduction.

Oh, wait, the only witnesses are a couple of very young kids, with no corroboration from any credible source?

The media-fueled hysteria on this child-abduction issue has profoundly corrosive effects on our society.

A child is 1,000 times more likely to be hurt in a car crash than to be abducted by a stranger, but because the "news" media only reports on unusual things, we're all left believing that the most weirdly uncommon risks are in fact commonplace.

"Oh, wait, the only witnesses are a couple of very young kids, with no corroboration from any credible source?"

I'd believe my 7 year old. I'd certainly consider most 9 year olds to be credible. They may have misunderstood what was happening but I very much doubt that a 9 year old and a 5 year old could make up a detailed story and keep it straight enough to fool the police -- most adults couldn't manage that.

These kids acted quickly and courageously. I once read that if you are alone and someone tries to abduct you, fall to the ground and grab the predator's legs. Most people want to shake free, so they will be busy fighting to get loose rather than being able to grab you. This 9 year old intuitively did something similar by pushing his brother down. Good for him!

Maybe this article isn't written in the best way, but believe the children. Children have things happen to them like this all of the time but it's only when the abduction actually happens when people take notice.

Some of the replies here show how callous society is. Just wait until someone takes your child, niece or nephew off the streets...some older White guy that just happened to be walking down the street and takes them.

bobtom222 wrote: "They may have misunderstood what was happening but I very much doubt that a 9 year old and a 5 year old could make up a detailed story and keep it straight enough to fool the police..."

No one said that the kids were trying to fool the police. What IS being said is what you yourself said: "They may have misunderstood what was happening..." I'm saying that they may have misinterpreted what was happening. Maybe the guy just walked up behind them and spooked them by accident and the kids overreacted. Maybe he was running by and just kept running after the older kid pushed the little kid to the ground. This guy might not even realize that he was involved in a "confrontation"!

I am glad that these children are okay. You hear of too many cases that do not end well.
However, I find it rather strange that ANYONE, regardless of their age, could give such a detailed description of a stranger who approached them from behind and then ran off after the foiled attempt.
Extremely detailed for an encounter that probably lasted 10 seconds, if that much. Down to the silver hoop earring in his right ear and the left chest pocket of his yellow polo shirt.
Hmmm...

An attempted crime somewhere other than PG County or D.C., a White perp, and maybe the children misunderstood what was happening.
Give me a break! A nine year old child would know whether or not someone, whom they did not know, was attempting to do something unusual to him or his brother. I wonder how the posts would read if this happened in P.G. County, or D.C., and the alledged perp was African American.. hmmmm...

Isn't it better to just believe these kids so parents and kids in the area will be more alert? Better than not taking it seriously and having the guy succeed next time, yes? It can never hurt to be too careful and alert.